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The Spirit of God Was Hovering Over the Face of the Water

Keraza Magazine issue 23-24, June 14, 2019

In the story of creation, the divine revelation document that, "The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2). The word hovering is translated in the original Hebrew text into rachaf which means a bird sitting on eggs to incubate them until they hatch. The same word was repeated in the saying of the Lord in the book of Deuteronomy, "As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings" (Deuteronomy 11:32). This means that the divine revelation meant to clarify to us that the Holy Spirit was sitting on the earth from the beginning exactly like the chicken which sits on her eggs incubating them till they hatch. It is known that when the chicken hover over her eggs, she pulls out the feathers of her chest to allow her warm skin to be in direct contact with the eggs to warm them, and to keep the pulled feather as an insulator for the nest. A chicken does not get out from the eggs except once per day to eat and drink then she hastens to go back to sit on them again until they hatch.

If our Lord Jesus Christ taught us to pray saying, "Our Father who art in heavens", yet the Holy Bible talks in many places about God's "motherhood". In the majority of these places, God's motherhood is related to the Holy Spirit. Example of these are, "Now I will cry like a woman in labor, I will pant and gasp at once" (Isaiah 42:14); "Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely, they may forget, yet I will not forget you" (Isaiah 49:15); "Then you shall feed; on her sides shall you be carried and be dandled on her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem" (Isaiah 66:12-13); "Surely, I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me" (Psalms 131:2). Also, in the story of the creation, He said, "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:27). This means that man, who is a mirror that reflects the image of God, showed by his creation that God, Who has no gender, is a father and a mother at the same time!

In the story of Nicodemus, we find a frank saying of the Lord Jesus Christ about the Holy Spirit who gives birth like a mother: "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). A natural mother feels a great responsibility towards the child she begets. It is not enough for her to give birth to him, but she considers his birth a mere beginning to take care of him, raise him up and teach him until he grows up and becomes mature. Likewise, the Holy Spirit, of whom we have been born, does not leave us like orphans, according to the words of Jesus Christ, but His anointment remains firm within us to teach us about everything like the mother who teaches her son about everything starting from how to eat, drink, walk and talk. The Lord Jesus Christ also described the Holy Spirit to be a "Comforter". It is well known that a mother is the one able to comfort her children the most through her bosom in which her troubled crying child throw himself to find his sense of security and peace. Therefore, most probably the saying, "His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me" refers primarily to the work of the motherhood of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.

I like the quote saying, "God is a father who loves us with a heart of a mother"!

In the Feast of Pentecost, let us then enjoy the meek tenderhearted motherhood of the Holy Spirit!

Bishop Youssef
Bishop, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States